Tale of a J Class
Tale of a J Class is a special. The first part aired on 4/17/2017. Plot Part 1: One early morning, Nicholas and Eileen deliver a train back to Highland Valley. They were both out very late and go to the shed to get some sleep. Back on ground level, Mr. Edwards tells Nicholas to take a manifest to Roanoke along with Henry and Kara. Nicholas is still asleep and doesn't catch that. Lily uses her horn to wake Nicholas, which works. Nicholas however, is mad and tells Lily that if Norfolk Southern were to replace her, he hopes the replacement is less annoying. Lily seems unaffected and sets off to get her train.. When Henry, Kara, and Nicholas arrive at Roanoke, Kara spots Barry, so they decide to talk to him soon. As they start a conversation, Nicholas starts regretting what he said to Lily, so he asks Barry if he thinks everyone could see replacement anytime soon. Barry knows what replacement was like, so he decides to tell his life story. Barry starts out explaining history behind the 1879 and 1903 J Class as well as the building of the 1941-1942 J Classes, as well as the 1950 J Class, his kind. One day in August 1951, Barry arrives back after a run with the Powhatan Arrow. He talks to his friend Ferdinand, who doesn't understand why Barry enjoys the Arrow so much. The next morning, Ferdinand sets off with a freight train where he later sees a pair of PRR F7As. One month later, Ferdinand is still annoyed by all the diesels he is seeing lately, as they are replacing steam engines on other railroads. Barry isn't too worried, as it's not the N&W. In April 1952, Barry arrives back from his journey where he meets Ferdinand and Rorick in the sheds. They are talking about the next day, as Rorick is being tested against some GM demonstrator FTs to experiment with costs. The test begins the next day where Rorick leaves the diesels in his dust. This excites Barry for a long while, but Ferdinand still believes that change is possible. In January 1954, Barry hears from Ferdinand that the last month, the N&W purchased their final steam locomotives. Barry thinks the railroad doesn't need engines anymore, but Ferdinand and N&W J Class #600 don't think that's exactly the case. 600 leaves to get ready for the Powhatan Arrow as Rorick arrives and informs Barry about the end of steam production. Rorick, too, thinks that the railroad could possibly buy diesels. News got around that N&W placed orders for diesels in 1955, and in 1956, it was official. That same year in January, Barry leaves for Cincinnati with the Pocahontas. The trip goes well until they reach Cedar, WV, where Barry finds himself going overspeed and derails near the Tug River. Later that year in June, Ferdinand comes to visit him and also tells him that they got their first diesel locomotives. Later that year in November, Barry returns to service, though temporarily assigned to freight runs. Rorick compliments Barry on his new appearance, as Barry's condition has improved with his extensive repair job. Two days later, Rorick even mentions it to N&W 475, who asks him how Barry is now doing. In February 1957, some more new N&W GP9s roll out of the shops. They pass by Ferdinand, who is at a coal mine. The next day as Barry picks up his train, Ferdinand arrives and warns him about the new engines. Barry cannot recall seeing many diesels so far, and leaves the station. Later on his trip, he sees two GP9s pulling a freight train. Three months later, Ferdinand goes to pick up his train, but finds it shorter than usual. N&W #600, who is passing by, tells him that two GP9s took most of the train. Ferdinand is angry. Later in July, as a freight train led by 3 diesels departs Roanoke, Ferdinand is angry about them "stealing his work", but Barry tells him that they were just helping. N&W J Class #612 thinks that Ferdinand was most likely displaced with all his short trains. He then departs the station. In October 1957, Barry is pulling the Powhatan Arrow when his engineer tells him that they can only go as far as Bluefield, because two diesels are taking over from there. This upsets Barry, as he could be getting displaced too. Barry still gets the train to just outside Bluefield, where the lead diesel congratulates him on how quick he could arrive. Little did Barry know, that the next year would see the worst in them. 'Part 2: '''One afternoon in May 1958, Rorick is pulling a freight train while boasting to himself about his power. He meets Ferdinand in the shed, who tells him that their time is running out. The next evening, after a long day of looking, Ferdinand finds Barry and tells him the news. In November of that year, Barry meets a new GP9, known as Winston, who seems friendly. One month later, Ferdinand meets another new GP9, named Alec, who teases him about his short train. Alec is also determined to replace the steam engines. Barry, who is at the nearby station, hears everything. Kara agrees that Alec was rude, but Barry tells how things got worse the next year. In March 1959, Barry arrives at the station to get his train, only to discover that his job was already assigned to a diesel. Even though GP9s were now starting to work passenger trains, Barry is still enraged. He tells this to Rorick, and he too is upset. He also tells Barry that he was displaced just like Ferdinand. They both agree that Alec was rude to them. Four days after, Barry arrives at Roanoke with the Arrow. He sees Alec insulting Ferdinand again. This time Barry angrily confronts Alec. Alec just laughs it off, and Barry couples back up to his train and fumes away. Later in June, Winston prepares to leave with a freight train. He and Barry feel bad that the latter will be going soon. Rorick feels bad too, as retirement is just a month away. The time comes very soon. Barry has one final conversation with one of his brothers before Winston tells him that his train is ready. Barry makes the most of his final run while hoping everyone sees his glory for what appears to be the final time. When he arrives, he is put in the deadline with some other members of his class. In October, Barry is summoned to pull the final Farewell to Steam excursion to Roanoke. Winston advises him to be careful, as any chance for preservation will be lost if he ends up like Philip.. Barry departs the station. When Barry arrives that evening, he meets Ferdinand again. Alec passes them and pokes another insult to Barry. Ferdinand is angry and even vows revenge on Alec for the pain he caused the steam engines since his arrival. That night, Ferdinand goes to Alec's yard and challenges him to a fight. Ferdinand and Alec bump each other until Ferdinand bumps him hard into the end of the siding. Ferdinand quickly reverses away. The next morning, some diesels talk about the previous night's events. They decide to terminate Ferdinand, as he was considered dangerous. Ferdinand backs away and the diesels chase him. The chase continues until Ferdinand is knocked off a trestle and explodes shortly after the fall. Two days later, Winston delivers Barry the sad news. Winston explains that everyone else is okay, but Ferdinand died, as his weight was too much for the big fall. Him using extreme boiler pressure contributed to his demise, as his stressed boiler couldn't stand several hard hits from the derailment. Barry is shocked and saddened to find out what happened to his friend. One month later, Winston arrives, this time to tell Barry that he is saved. O. Winston Link purchased Barry so that he wouldn't be scrapped like his brothers. Barry is happy to learn about this. Eventually, Barry is moved to the museum for static display. A lot of things change during his museum life. Alec stops being rude (and surprisingly apologizes one day). N&W Y6B #2190 is the last steam engine operating on the N&W in 1960, the Powhatan Arrow and the Pocahontas are eventually discontinued, new diesels are introduced between the 60's and 70's, N&W begins retiring the oldest diesels, and Robert Claytor agrees to restore Barry. Barry is moved to Southern Railway's Norris Yard Steam Facility in Birmingham, AL to be restored. He is restored in 1982 and ready to run again. In August 1982, after a conversation with an Amtrak F40PH, Barry has to take his first train since 1959. N&W and SOU have merged at this point, giving Barry more tracks to run on. Barry thanks his friends, his brothers, Ferdinand, and O. Winston Link for helping him get this far. He then sets off. His second career was going to see its ups and downs. '''Part 3: '''In May 1986, as Barry is pulling an excursion, he abruptly derails when going over a switch. He finds out later that one of the cars didn't make it over the switch and that the older cars will be retired and that excursions will now be limited to 40 MPH. The next year, Barry meets an old friend. It turns out to be Rorick, who had recently been restored for the NS Steam Program. Barry and Rorick have a great time in the steam program from then on, reliving their old days. In November 1991, they get to do a tripleheader excursion with Jacob, which is a success. One month later, Barry visits Rorick, who reveals that he was recently taken out of the Steam Program due to rising costs. Barry is shocked. The next day, Rorick is still upset. He wants to stay and has an idea. He'll pull a very long train to see if the NS officials would see how good he is and let him stay. Rorick backs into the yard to get ready for his massive train. Meanwhile at Roanoke, Joe and Barry start wondering why Rorick isn't back when suddenly the rails shake and Rorick comes thundering toward them. Joe starts reversing away as Barry begins his pursuit. When Barry catches up to Rorick, he warns him that he has to try to stop the train, as it's too dangerous (due to the length of the train, conventional braking wouldn't be effective, so Rorick would have to gradually apply the brakes to give time for the braking to spread to the end of the train). Rorick knows this, but refuses, as he wants to prove himself. However, Barry soon approaches a crossover that he sees is set toward Rorick's track. He applies his brakes and is able to stop in time. Rorick doesn't realize this, and when he thinks Barry crashed, he slams on his brakes hard, probably to the emergency position. Because of the train's length, only Rorick and the front cars are braking, causing the rest of the train to push against the front, causing a major derailment, even derailing Rorick before knocking him unconscious. Back at Roanoke, Rorick regains consciousness and sees Barry in front of him, who reveals what happened. Joe and an SD60 then take Rorick to Shaffer's Crossing. In 1994, Barry takes the final NS Steam Excursion of the century. He is then moved to the Museum for static display. In 2003, Rorick rejoins him. Later in 2013, a campaign known as fireup611 is started with intentions of restoring Barry. This becomes news to everyone, including to Nicholas, who talks about it with Lily and a GP60. In 2014, Barry is moved out of Roanoke on his way to Spencer to get restored. After the Streamliners at Spencer event in Spencer, NC, his restoration begins. Only a year later, Barry is fired up again. He stays at Spencer for 2 months for test runs, and in May 2015, he pulls an excursion back to Roanoke. Now he is the star of the steam program. Nicholas, Kara, and Henry are amazed by Barry's tale, and Barry restates his point that replacement came before they knew it and that locomotives couldn't last forever anyway. Nicholas now feels bad about what he says to Lily and hopes to apologize to her. He even remembers the time in February 2013 when he "first met her". As he and Joe were taking a freight train to Makai, they are sidelined to let Lily pass with the Lake Shore Limited. Nicholas thinks he's in love as Lily goes by. That night, he talks to her, and wants to more. (However, this is the wrong Lily, as he was thinking about the Amtrak Lily). After Nicholas' flashback, Barry sets off to take his passengers back to Lynchburg as Henry, Kara, and Nicholas get ready to take a freight train to Pittsburgh, PA. The next morning, Nicholas meets Lily and Marie at the shed. Nicholas apologizes to Lily, but she happily forgives him, as she knew he didn't mean it. Nicholas admits that he wants to spend more time with her. Lily tells him that she and Marie are to take a train to Roanoke later, but Marie says she doesn't have to go. Lily agrees that something can be worked out. With that said, Lily and Nicholas take the train in peace together, closing the film. Characters * Barry * Nicholas * Eileen * J.P. ''(cameo) * Peach (cameo) * Lily * Henry * Kara * Mr. Edwards * Mitch (cameo) * Pops (cameo) * Josiah (does not speak) * Ferdinand * Rorick * N&W J Class #600 (not named) * GM FT #103 (not named) * Worker'' (not named)'' * N&W M Class #475 (not named) * N&W J Class #612 (not named) * Winston * Alec * Engineer'' (not shown)'' * N&W F7A #3660 (not named) * N&W GP9 #500 (not named) * Philip (mentioned) * N&W GP9 #773 (not named) * Steve (does not speak) * Big Mac (cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Nicholas (cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Timothy (cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Teduka (cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Ely (cameo) * Mike (as an SP SD45T-2; cameo) * Oliver (as a high hood; cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Larry (cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Matthew (cameo) * Mater (as an ATSF unit; cameo) * Springfield Industrial Rails Ryusei (cameo) * Dakota (as a Conrail unit; cameo) * Amtrak F40PH #229 (not named) * N&W worker (not named) * Jacob * Johnny * Joe * Kaleb (as a high hood; cameo) * NS C30-7 #8038 (not named) * NS GP60 #7150 (not named) * Anette (does not speak) * Timothy (cameo) * Matthew (cameo) * Jared (cameo) * Daisy (cameo) * Daniel (cameo) * Benson (cameo) * Mordecai (cameo) * Will * Lilim * Michael * Miranda (does not speak) * Kerry (mentioned) Locations * Highland Valley * Roanoke, VA * Norfolk, VA * Springfield Industrial * City and Country * Clovis Sub * Tidewater * Industrial Wasteland * CSX Keystone Subdivision Trivia * This special was inspired by Pacific Productions' Tale of a GS-4, up4014 steam train fan's Tale of an FEF-3, KLDStudios' Legend of the Lost Daylight, and dajara521's Psychosis. * The beginning scene was only added for humor. * We can infer that Lily still enjoys teasing Nicholas on occasion. * The part where Rorick is tested against EMD FTs is based on reality when in 1952, N&W tested their A Classes and Y6s against EMD demonstrator F units and won out. * Barry's 1956 accident is also based on reality, when 611 derailed near Cedar, WV. His return from being repaired is also based on real life, since the creator remembers reading that J Classes were also assigned to freight trains, and 611 was after it was repaired. * When the EMD demonstrator FTs are delivering new diesels, there were two idiots trying to beat the train to the crossing (if you look closely). * Stock footage from some of the creator's older videos and Trainz comedies is used. * The events of Episode 6 are referenced (Philip's accident). That scene may be similar to the scene in Psychosis, when UP 836's wreck is referenced. * The scene of Ferdinand fighting Alec is also a reference to Psychosis, when Rorick fights some diesels (most noticeably a Fairbanks Morse Trainmaster). ** In an early development, Ferdinand was going to biff Alec into the shed siding, where the shed would fall on Alec and crush him (just like the end of Rorick's fight with the Trainmaster in Psychosis), but the creator changed it to crashing into a siding and being out of service for 5 months for the final outcome. * It's implied that Ferdinand overworked his boiler when being chased. * O. Winston Link's story of buying the 611 is heard. * One flashback scene shows Nicholas and Dakota in their Conrail days. * Barry's accident in 1986 is referenced. * The 1991 event of N&W 611, N&W 1218, and SOU 4501 tripleheading is also covered. Jacob was shown in his green paint, as SOU 4501 was green during the 1990's. * The parts where Rorick assembles and tries to pull a long train is very similar to what happened toward the end of dajara521's Psychosis. * This marks the first speaking role (and in chronological order, first appearance) of Joe. * Dajara521 guest stars in this special. * Footage from the creator's N&W 611 Going Away Party, N&W 611 Homecoming, and N&W 611 at Petersburg videos is used. * It is revealed that Winston still operates at Spencer, NC. * Will's only line is recycled from Episode 4. * The flashback scenes of Nicholas and Lily (Amtrak) talking are inspired by some lines up4014 steam train fan sent the creator a long time ago. * When Nicholas mentions Kerry's accident, he's talking about when the real NS 1036 had an accident along with NS 4001 (the present scenes of Tale of a J Class are set in April 2017). * This marks Floridian Films' largest voice role to date. * In reality, the N&W F7As, SD9s, and Trainmasters were not acquired until N&W merged with several other railroads. The F7As were from the N&W/Wabash merger, the SD9s were from the N&W/NKP merger, and the Trainmasters were from the N&W/VGN merger. The creator decided to make them as original N&W units anyway because he felt he needed more diesels than just ALCOs and GP9s. Additionally, Winston was never in the red scheme until his arrival at North Carolina Transportation Museum, as the creator didn’t know that #620 was painted black from the start. Goofs * Henry says "heritage" wrong. * When Ferdinand meets the PRR F7As at a crossing, he blows his whistle too early. * The creator may have been a little off with some of the January 1956 scenes. * During the first montage in Part 2, a red GP9 and a blue SD9 on the diesel delivery train switch places between some scenes. * In the June 1959 scenes, Barry's track seems to raised. * Barry seemed to have ran to Cincinnati on his final trip, although the creator learned during his April 2017 Roanoke trip that 611 was taken off at Bluefield on its last run. * On the diesel battle scenes, a few clips might be out of order or not sped up fast enough. * Some transitions are faded too quickly (especially stock footage scenes). * In addition, there is lag on some scenes. * Barry is shown leading the tripleheader excursion with Rorick and Jacob even though in reality, Jacob was leading with Barry and Rorick trailing. * When Barry talks to Rorick, Rorick's puffing sound can still be heard. * There is a BNSF hopper on Rorick's train even though BNSF wasn't formed until 1996. * In the credits, "written" is spelled incorrectly. * On the very last scene of the credits, the texture is messed up for the first few seconds. * A few times throughout the film, Ferdinand is improperly referred to as "Fernidand". In addition, Barry refers to Alec as "Alex" on one scene. Special Category:Specials Category:Specials inspired by other work Category:Season 3 Category:Specials that involve a crash